Course Buyout Policy

The purpose of this policy is to set college guidelines for faculty to be released from teaching to work on an externally funded grant or contract.  This is distinct from a course release that is provided by the college for research start-up, administrative tasks, or other duties that are part of a faculty member’s workload.

John Glenn College core faculty and HR/fiscal staff

Course buyouts are one way that faculty members can allocate their effort to an externally funded project during the academic term. Each externally funded course buyout covers a portion of the faculty member’s teaching and research workload allocation so that the faculty member can dedicate effort to the externally funded project. The cost of the buyout to the sponsor must be commensurate with the effort performed on the project.  Effort allocated to the project plus teaching, service, and other research workload obligations must never exceed 100%. 

Per the college’s Pattern of Administration document, the typical workload for a 9-month tenure track faculty member is 40% teaching (equivalent to four courses at three to four credit hours each), 40% research, and 20% teaching. The table below provides the breakdown of the workload allocations (teaching and research) and the costs associated with a given number of course buyouts in an academic year, up to a maximum of three course buyouts per academic year. 

Workload Allocation and Cost

• One Course Buyout
  • Teaching: 10%
  • Research: 5%
  • Average Cost Per Course: 15%
  • Total Cost: 15%
• Two Course Buyouts
  • Teaching: 20%
  • Research: 10%
  • Average Cost Per Course: 15%
  • Total Cost: 30%
• Three Course Buyouts
  • Teaching: 30%
  • Research: 20%
  • Average Cost Per Course: 16.67%
  • Total Cost: 50%

1. Each course buyout is budgeted to cover 10% of a faculty member’s teaching time and 5-10% of the faculty member’s research time.
2. One course buyout per academic year costs 15% of the faculty member’s annual 9-month institutional base salary and benefits.
3. Two course buyouts per academic year cost 30% of the faculty member's annual 9-month institutional base salary and benefits.
4. Three course buyouts per academic year cost 50% of the faculty member’s annual 9-month institutional base salary and benefits.
5. Effort can be distributed across multiple awards to cover the cost of course buyouts and should be allocated in a way that is commensurate with effort performed on a given award. For example, two course buyouts in an academic year could be split evenly between two awards with equal effort (15% each) or one award could receive a higher allocation than another award as long as the total is equivalent to 30% and the effort matches the distribution.

1. All course buyouts from external funds should be included in the budget that is submitted as part of the ePA005.  Faculty members are required to work with the college’s Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist to determine the cost of course buyouts in an academic year and to allocate the costs in line with effort to be performed on each project.
2. Potential buyouts for the upcoming academic year should be communicated in the annual teaching preferences survey (in January of the year prior to the buyout) or to the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and the Associate Dean for Curriculum for off-cycle opportunities.
3. Once funding is awarded, faculty members are required to obtain approval from the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and the Associate Dean for Curriculum to take a course buyout in a subsequent semester. Course buyouts are not guaranteed and are reviewed based on college teaching needs and faculty workload expectations in a given academic year. Buyouts are more likely to be approved when requested early in advance of the next academic year (e.g. by the beginning of spring semester in the year proceeding the buyout). Three course buyouts in an academic year require additional approval from the Dean by May 15 of the preceding year, as this reflects a significant change to the faculty member’s workload. The Dean’s decision will be based in part on the faculty member’s performance during the prior year’s annual review, the potential impact of the externally funded research, as well as the college’s needs and priorities for the upcoming academic year.
4. Once approved, faculty members should work with the college’s Senior Grants and Contracts Specialist to identify how to best allocate their effort to cover the cost of the buyout.  

Effective June 15, 2015, Revised August 28, 2017, Revised November 17, 2021

Kim Young
Chief Administrative Officer, Senior Lecturer
young.1807@osu.edu

Matthew Busser
Human Resource Consultant
(614) 247-6256
busser.2@osu.edu

Last updated (policy contact): 11/17/2021